7.4 magnitude earthquake hits Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea: A magnitude 7.4 Richter scale earthquake has generated a small tsunami and caused minor damage to buildings in the town of Kokopo in East New Britain province.

Casualties and injuries have not been reported as of yet but the quake has majorly damaged the infrastructure.

The earthquake hit at 11:44am (AEST), with an epicenter 139 kilometers south of Kokopo and a depth of 40-50 kilometres.

A tsunami warning for "hazardous" waves was initially issued for islands within 300km of the epicenter, but "the tsunami threat has largely passed," according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre's (PTWC) latest advisory.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) measured the earthquake at magnitude-7.4 but the PNG Geophysical Observatory Office said it was a magnitude-7.2.